Ham Satting vs NodeScope
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ham Satting
Track amateur radio satellites in real-time, predict passes, and log QSOs. Features include live APRS mapping, AR tracking, and multi-satellite comparison. Offers a unique music broadcast service and SSTV decoding.
- Real-time satellite tracking
- Pass predictions with quality indicators
- Interactive footprint mapping
- AR Tracking with device sensors
- Multi-satellite tracking
- SSTV Decoder
- APRS Live Map Layer
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Track amateur radio satellites in real time, predict passes, log QSOs, hunt grid squares — with a live APRS map layer and the new Music Broadcast service. Built by a fellow ham (A41UX) — free of analytics, ads, and tracking. CORE FEATURES • Real-time tracking for FM/SSB linear birds (e.g. ISS, SO-50, etc.), digipeaters (e.g. GRBBeta, Foresail-1p, etc), SSTV + SSDV image birds (e.g. Lobachevsky, GEOSCAN 1-6 , etc.), Weather LRPT (Meteor-M N2-3 / N2-4), and Music Broadcast (e.g. BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, etc) • Pass predictions with quality indicators (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor), AOS / LOS, max elevation, duration, azimuth • Interactive footprint mapping with live position + great-circle bearing lines • Compass dialog with theme-aware export image and watermark • AR Tracking (iPhone / iPad) using device compass + accelerometer • Multi-satellite tracking and side-by-side pass comparison • Five-mode AR audio recording (iPhone / iPad): SSTV, SSDV, Digital, Weather, Music — Doppler-corrected RX labelling; consistent WAV naming NEW IN APRIL 2026 • Music Broadcast: 4 satellites transmit short music tones as an RF identifier instead of CW Morse — T.MicroSat-1 plays Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" on 401.025 MHz; BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, OTP-2 use classical / video-game themes. RX-only on UHF 400-402 MHz; brown toggle on AR page records the pass. • Scheduled Service Events: register a temporary frequency override for SSTV, SSDV, Digital, or Weather (Meteor-M rotation, ARISS channel shifts, etc.) • APRS digipeater added on SONATE-2 (DP0SNX) and NO-44 (PCSAT, W3ADO-1) on 145.825 MHz simplex • IO-86 SSDV downlink added on 145.880 MHz • AMSAT Live Activity Indicator: every prediction card carries a 24-hour activity dot in AMSAT cell colors, sourced from the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status page. Tap for a 48-hour popup with individual reports per cell (callsign + grid + UTC slot), attribution, and a compact share-image. • 10 new satellites with permanent NORADs: TO-108, GRBBeta, Foresail-1p, Horizon, 239Alferov, Luca, BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, OTP-2, T.MicroSat-1 • APRS Live Map Layer: read-only APRS-IS feed, age-fading trails, 40+ symbol mappings, SSID filters, heard-by via aprs.fi • SSTV Decoder: multi-mode (Robot 36, PD 120 / 180, Martin, Scottie, Wraase, AVT, etc.) • Q1 2026 batch: 8 new satellites added (HADES-SA, PARUS-T3, HYPERVIEW-1G, MAGNARO-II Piscis, ARICA-2, FSI-SAT2, ZERO-II, OrigamiSat-2) • UI: long sat names auto-fit at any Font Scale; filter pills always one row; (i) info icons; 125 in-app tips LOGGING + AWARDS + EXPORT • Full QSO logbook: callsign, grid, mode, freq (TX / RX), satellite, RST, distance, bearing • Grid Hunters VUCC tracking with worked-grids map + great-circle paths from QTH • Per-QSO QSL card export — themed PNG ready to share or print • Export to ADIF (LoTW / TQSL), JSON, or CSV • Maidenhead 4 / 6 / 8-character grids • DXCC + VUCC dashboards, distance + bearing stats, worked-by-band charts • Calendar integration; smart pass notifications with min-elevation filter TECHNICAL • Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac (Apple Silicon + Intel). AR Tracking and live audio recording are iPhone / iPad features; pass prediction, logging, exports, mapping, and the AMSAT indicator run on every Apple device. • N2YO API for orbital data (free key required for non-ISS satellites) • Cached satellite catalogue works offline • Privacy-first: data stays on device, no analytics SDKs, no advertising IDs, no tracking. APRS-IS, N2YO, AMSAT Live OSCAR Status, and the optional aprs.fi REST are the only network calls PERFECT FOR • Amateur radio operators pursuing satellite communications • AMSAT members and CubeSat / PocketQube enthusiasts • Contest participants and award hunters (DXCC, VUCC, satellite awards) • SDR listeners curious about Music Broadcast on 400-402 MHz 73 — A41UX (Unixeer, Oman)
NodeScope
Visualize and analyze mesh network data from CoreScope and Beacon analyzers. Monitor nodes, packets, routes, and channels with live maps and detailed analytics. Export data and save favorites for quick access.
- View active nodes and observers
- Analyze node performance over time
- Live mesh map with animated traffic
- Inspect live packet data
- Browse channel traffic
- Examine observer details
- Search and save network elements
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NodeScope is an unofficial, read-only companion for CoreScope and Beacon, the mesh network analyzers used by MeshTexas and other MeshCore communities. It connects directly to a selected analyzer’s public API to present nodes, packets, channels, routes, observers, and analytics on iPhone and iPad, with adaptive layouts for iPhone Duo. Beacon support is in beta. Available features and history may vary by server. EXPLORE YOUR NETWORK View active nodes, online observers, recent packets, and signal information. Search across nodes, observers, channels, public keys, and packets, then save favorites for quick access. NODE ANALYTICS Evaluate nodes across multiple time ranges using native charts and summaries. Depending on the analyzer, NodeScope can display availability, signal quality, packet or observation activity, relay behavior, observer coverage, packet types, hop counts, peer interactions, and neighboring nodes. Beacon observation history is limited to the history retained by the server, currently up to seven days. Unavailable metrics are clearly identified rather than estimated. Export supported analytics as CSV or JSON. LIVE MESH MAP See known nodes on the map, distinguished by role. Live packet traffic animates hop-by-hop across the mesh. Filter by region, node role, activity, or observer. Inspect confirmed route hops, observations, packet metadata, and public text content. Replay supported routes on the map or share route details as structured text. Adaptive layouts can show the map alongside the live packet feed on supported devices. LIVE PACKETS Follow mesh traffic as it arrives. NodeScope groups observations of the same transmission so you can distinguish unique packets from the observers that received them. Filter the feed, inspect packet details, replay supported routes, or pause while exploring and return with Resume Live. CHANNELS Browse available group-channel traffic as a conversation feed and load older messages retained by the analyzer. CoreScope supports public channel history and locally monitored key-protected channels. Keys are stored in your device’s Keychain and are never sent to the analyzer. Beacon can provide server-decrypted channels whose keys are known by that server. On-device monitored-channel decryption is not currently available for Beacon. OBSERVERS Inspect devices feeding the analyzer, including available hardware information, firmware, activity, packet or observation statistics, and signal measurements. Supported Beacon servers can also provide battery voltage, noise floor, airtime, uptime, and receive errors. Missing measurements are shown as unavailable rather than zero. SEARCH, FAVORITES, SHARING, AND EXPORTS Search the network and save important channels, nodes, and observers to your Explore dashboard. Customize dashboard statistics, export supported data, and share direct links to nodes, observers, channels, and packets. Add supported nodes to MeshCore with a contact QR code, or open, copy, and share their MeshCore contact links. DIAGNOSTICS AND STORAGE Check analyzer connectivity, compatibility, live-update status, and available capabilities. Review cache usage and safely clear downloaded data without removing favorites, channel keys, or preferences. COMMUNITY ANALYZERS Choose from supported community CoreScope and Beacon sources, or enter a compatible analyzer hostname. Beacon sources are marked as beta. NodeScope has no backend of its own. It connects directly from your device to the selected analyzer. No NodeScope account or sign-in is required. PRIVACY BY DESIGN NodeScope contains no advertising, tracking, or third-party analytics SDKs. Location access is used only to show your position and center the map. Your location and locally stored channel keys are never transmitted by NodeScope. NodeScope is an independent project and is not affiliated with CoreScope, Beacon, MeshTexas, or MeshCore.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: NodeScope at 100% against Ham Satting's 0%. NodeScope also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 8 days). Ham Satting's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. NodeScope sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Ham Satting asks for nothing beyond the download.
NodeScope holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Ham Satting's written reviews are positive against 100% of NodeScope's.
Ham Satting ships an update every 8 days, NodeScope every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ham Satting | NodeScope |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Yousif AL Balushi | Adam Nieto |
Customer experience
Ham Satting
NodeScope
In-app purchases
Ham Satting
No in-app purchases
NodeScope
- Coffee$4.99
- Lunch$9.99
- Dinner$19.99









